Chester school board mulls future after failed bond referendum. They still don’t agree
Just a few weeks after voters denied a $116.5 million bond referendum for Chester County schools, tensions still run high among residents and school board members.
Board members don’t agree on what steps to take next, but do agree something needs to be done.
Monday night’s school board meeting was marked by heated debate. However, in the end, board members voted to purchase land across from York Technical College in Chester, which originally was intended to be the site of a new Chester High School, a stadium and outdoor athletic complex and a new Chester County Career Center.
That vote was not unanimous.
Board chair Maggie James (District 6) along with members Doug Shannon (District 4), Nakia White (District 5) and Jim Fuller (District 3) voted for the land purchase. Board members Sandy Lovern (District 1), Anne Collins (at large) and John Smith (District 2) voted against it.
Board members who supported the purchase said the district needs to move forward in improving facilities for Chester County students. Those against the purchase said the board should have a clear plan for how to proceed before spending money on land.
The land is expected to cost the district around $1.7 million, said Becky Crouch, spokesperson for the school district. The cost could vary based on the final survey of the land.
The referendum would have allowed the school district to pay for a new Chester High School, a district-wide performing arts center, upgrades and expansions to many schools and athletic facilities, and a new Chester County Career Center.
That referendum, which included a tax increase, drew opposing reactions from people in Chester County before being voted down Feb. 4.
Fuller said the board has extensively discussed, and previously approved, purchasing that land. He said it was chosen after looking at more than 10 sites. Fuller said the site was approved by the S.C. Department of Education and has all utilities in place.
“It was agreed that if the bond referendum had passed, we would be looking to build on that property,” Fuller said. “Why should we even have to discuss it now other than a formality that we go ahead and buy it?”
White agreed.
“With the bond referendum not going through, to be honest, as a board member it’s kind of embarrassing for me to face former students and children in the community,” she said. “We have to move forward.
“The community, their confidence in us will definitely increase when they see we are moving forward with the plans we are making and that we want to make a difference in the community. By being stagnant and not doing anything is how we lose the faith and confidence of our community members.”
James said the board has been discussing a new career center and other improvements for years.
“We can’t continue to keep kicking this can down the road,” she said. “We’re already five years behind and other school districts are just running all over Chester County.”
However, Lovern, who was vocal in opposing the bond referendum, said the board should not rush into a decision.
“I feel like we can’t make a decision on this until after we get a new superintendent,” she said Monday. “We rushed into the referendum. That’s why it failed.”
Superintendent Angela Bain is retiring June 30, Crouch said. The district is working to find a new full-time superintendent. The school board on Feb. 12 agreed to have the law firm White and Story, which represents the district, handle the search, according to minutes from that meeting posted to the district’s website.
Collins said the board needs to determine what will be built before purchasing land. She said the board has not yet met to discuss the failed referendum and next steps.
“We need to be a little more precise of what it is exactly we want to put wherever it is,” Collins said. “We need to look at our schools, the structure of our schools. Where are we going to be able to afford to put a modern school that lets our students know we care, that takes them into the next century.”
Chester County voters also denied a $38 million bond referendum in 2018. That referendum did not call for a tax increase.
“No bond referendum is going to pass until you find common ground,” Smith said. “We need to get input from the communities. We need to be responsible in what we’re doing. The board answers to the voters and this comes across as top-down decision making.”
James said the board gathered feedback before forming the most recent plan for the bond referendum.
She said feedback indicated consolidating schools is not an option. James said the school district cannot afford to build multiple new high schools.
“We went to every part of this community to ask what everyone wanted,” she said to a room filled with Chester County residents. “All we’re trying to do is upgrade Chester County. You say you believe in Chester, you say you love Chester, but yet you keep putting stop gaps to stop us from doing what we need to do as a community for our children.”
Shannon said the issue comes down to prioritizing needs.
“For education and for the capital needs in our community, we have huge need and limited resources. In order to serve those, we have to prioritize and identify the greatest need, the immediate need,” he said. “I find that to be for the students at Chester High School and the Chester career center.”
Chester County residents at Monday’s meeting had mixed reactions to this month’s failed bond referendum.
“With the bond referendum, we only ask for honestly and openness,” said Janice Barnes of Edgemoor. “We wanted you to listen to the people and hear what everybody needed.”
Monica Boyd, a pre-kindergarten assistant at Cherry Park School of Inquiry, thanked Bain for the work putting together the referendum.
“I don’t understand, were we all going to another meeting?” Boyd said to the crowd. “It seems like everything I’ve seen and read has been on the table. Do we not care about our kids and how their future is going to be? Do we not care about how the education is going to be in this community? Do we not want our kids to have the same advantages of other children in other districts?”
Next steps
If the referendum had passed, the district estimated it would cost $19.6 million to build a new career center, The Herald previously reported.
The board has legal options available to move forward with building plans, said Frannie Heizer with Burr and Forman law firm. Heizer is a lawyer based at the firm’s Columbia office who assists school districts, municipalities and counties with financing activities such as bonds, according to the law firm’s website.
School districts, by law, can borrow money up to eight percent of the district’s assessed value of taxable property without a vote.
Heizer said school districts with unsuccessful bond referendums typically use that avenue to fund capital projects. For the Chester County School District, she said, that amount is currently about $9 million. Heizer said the district also has access to about $2 million this year from taxpayer money set aside for school repairs.
The school board could choose to use that money to build a career center or other needed facilities, Heizer said.
“If we have to do it a little bit at a time, that’s what we have to do,” James said. “I don’t want the state coming in and condemning the career center. The building is coming apart.”
The Chester County School District had a mix of ratings from “Unsatisfactory” to “Excellent” on the latest report card, The Herald previously reported.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
